Define Loyalty
by AbridgedPlane
Summary: Foxpaw and Echopaw are meant to be mates. At least, that's what the rest of ThunderClan thinks. But neither of them have ever felt that way, and they're beginning to doubt everything. Will Foxpaw be able to look past his fear of Clan life? Will Echopaw have to make protecting her best friend her top priority forever? They're both ready to find out.
1. Chapter 1

She was there the first time he panicked.

They were only a few moons old and they were play-fighting. Fur colours clashed, kit teeth were barred. Back paws attempted to push and they rolled. It was all colours and blur until somehow they got untangled and rolled opposite ways, laughing and mewling the whole time.

It was Foxkit who got to his paws first. He was ready for a rematch; in which he would practice hissing once more. But then he looked around and realized he wasn't in the warm, safe interior of the nursery any longer.

Warriors bustled around him, muttering about things he couldn't even begin to comprehend. He spun on his paws, looking for Echokit and sighing with relief when he found her relatively close-by, gray and white fur glistening in the sunhigh light

"Echokit! Where are we?" he asked. She knew everything, she had told him that. So he was a bit discouraged by the answer he received.

"I, um, I'm not sure," she replied, giggling with embarrassment.

That's when the fear set in. He felt it heating up in his paws like a stone left in the sun on a hot day. He looked around and couldn't see any cat he recognized except for the blue-eyed cat before him. His breath got shallower. They were doomed. No one would find them. They were out in the open. Dead meat.

"Echokit…I don't feel so good." He was unfamiliar with this feeling of panic and intense fear. He never had to feel that. He was always safe.

He looked down at his ginger paws, afraid to look his friend in the eyes. How mouse-brained did he look right now? But the tom-kit couldn't help himself, because the sky was pushing down on him and the ground was sinking below him.

The she-kit must have realized because she was quick to stop the games. "Foxkit, it's okay, calm down. We're fine. We're in camp, I know it."

Foxkit had to repeat her words to himself several times to get himself to truly believe it. And when he did believe it, he was able to look into her eyes, and somewhat absorb the calm radiance they gave off.

"Trust me."

She was there when he couldn't sleep.

Foxkit's eyes had popped open around moonhigh, and he didn't feel quite right. Although he was curled tightly into his mother's belly, he could see into the next nest, where Echokit slept against her mother.

He had awoken from weird dreams of being dragged into that horrid camp once again, and this time there were so many cats that he couldn't see past them. It was dark and he could hear loud claps of thunder above him. Rain pelted down on his fur and he was screaming for Echokit, but she couldn't hear him, because she never came.

He stared at her sleeping form. Fur relaxed, eyes fluttered shut. Her tail covered her nose and her back rose and fell softly. Foxkit told himself that she was here. Echokit was hear because he could see her and he didn't have to scream to find her. He tried to breathe in and out along with her.

 _Echokit is here. We're friends. She'd never leave me. And I'd never leave her._

Somehow, eventually, he fell back into unconsciousness.

She was there when he got a thorn in his paw and was filled with that same anxious feeling he had got the day they got "lost". Yowling and crying, she came with him and his mother to the medicine cat's den where it was removed easily and almost painlessly. He had thought he was dying, but Echokit told him a funny story and he forgot all about it.

She was there when he refused to eat his mouse because he could have sworn to StarClan that it was still alive, that the tail had totally moved, and he feared it crawling on his insides if he ate it. Needless to say, the warrior who had caught it was a bit upset to hear what he believed was an insult, but Echokit defended Foxkit. She always did.

Then there was that time that they were up after their nesttime. They hid in the back of the den because their mothers were so absorbed in conversation that they didn't really care at that moment that they were up.

"Foxkit, why are you always so scared of things?" Echokit had asked innocently.

The tom-kit in question kneaded at the ground with his paws. "I…I don't know. It's just that everything is scary. We're never safe."

She looked him in the eyes and he knew that this eye contact was too important to break.

"We're protected by the ones that love us, Foxkit. And I'm going to protect you."

When he heard that, when he heard the one she-kit he wanted to hear that from, Foxkit smiled. That helped, a little bit.

In fact, it helped a _lot._


	2. Chapter 2

As moons passed, Foxkit and Echokit made the quick transition from small kits to bigger kits. They were both surprised to see that they weren't gaining any den mates. Softpelt, Foxkit's mother, and Duskshadow, Echokit's mother, explained to the kits that since leaf-bare was quickly approaching, many queens wanted to wait until the weather was warmer and prey was more plentiful to have kits. Echokit showed disappointment, because she had always wished that there were other kits to play with, but Foxkit didn't care. They hadn't had den mates since they were two moons old, and he could barely remember what that was like. He just wanted to be with Echokit, and that was it.

At five moons old, Echokit was eager to leave her kit life behind. Foxkit, however, felt uneasy about the thought of sleeping in a new den and having big responsibilities. Duskshadow showed pride at the fact that her kit was ready to be an apprentice, and Softpelt seemed a bit embarrassed at the fact that Foxkit wasn't at the same level.

"Foxkit, why aren't you excited to be an apprentice?" Softpelt murmured to him one day while Duskshadow was busy cleaning her kit's fur. Echokit had just finished a giant speech about how why she loved being a part of ThunderClan, and Foxkit barely had any words for that.

"I…I don't know," he lied. He knew exactly why he didn't want to be an apprentice. He feared messing up. He feared being stuck as an apprentice forever, never passing that final test that the apprentices always whispered about. He feared dying in vain, and never serving his Clan like a true warrior would and should. "I guess I'm just nervous. The Highrock is really far up there. What if I fall off while Amberstar is making me an apprentice?"

"I've never seen that happen before. Just stay close to Amberstar and you should be fine," Softpelt replied seriously, even though Foxkit thought that lie was very easy to see through.

They were interrupted when a sleek brown tabby wiggled into the den. Foxkit recognized her as Cherrypool, the medicine cat.

"Great StarClan!" she exclaimed. "Have you seen the weather out there today? Absolutely wonderful for a late leaf-fall day, don't you think?"

Softpelt purred in an amused manner. "Yes, it certainly is. What brings you here today, Cherrypool?"

"Oh! I was just wondering if the kits wanted to take a tour around camp with me. Their apprentice ceremony is in just a quarter-moon, correct?"

Duskshadow nodded, looking down at her kit with proud, shining amber eyes.

"Can we go, Duskshadow? Please?" Echokit whined from her nest. Foxkit didn't bother to ask Softpelt, because he already knew that she would be forcing him to go.

Duskshadow sighed and nudged her kit out of the nest with her tail. "Don't bother your father or any of the other warriors, alright?"

"I won't!" Echokit sang as she leapt to join Cherrypool. She looked to Foxkit with her shimmering blue eyes. "Come on!"

Foxkit dragged himself away from her mother's warm coat, telling himself this was all for the best. Echokit squealed with satisfaction, and the tour patrol was off.

The sunlight nearly blinded Foxkit as he stepped out into the open. It was a bright day, and, as Cherrypool had said, warm. Two warriors were sharing tongues in the shade of an oak tree, while an apprentice was proudly showing off the squirrel he had caught to his friends. Every cat seemed to be moving slowly, and many were stretching. The atmosphere seemed calm and warm.

"I've never seen it this quiet," Foxkit said to Cherrypool.

The she-cat purred. "The Clan is enjoying the warm day, of course! We haven't had many like these since before leaf-fall, as you know."

"But shouldn't everyone be out on patrols?"

"Not every cat goes on patrols all the time. Right now, I think there's only one hunting patrol out. But there will be more soon." All of a sudden, Cherrypool leaned in closer to Foxkit's face, yellow eyes full of concern. "Are you feeling alright, Foxkit? You look a little sick."

He took a step back in surprise. Did he really look that worried right now? "No! No, I'm fine. It's just that…well, Marshfoot has said a lot about being in battle all the time, and…" He trailed off, unsure of how to tell the medicine cat how afraid he was of being an apprentice without seeming like a total coward. 

Cherrypool rolled her eyes with an over-exaggerated sigh. "That mouse-brain! Scaring a young kit like that. No, Foxkit, we aren't always in battle. Marshfoot has seen a lot of nasty fights, but things have settled down. I think it's partially because he has finally become an elder, but that's just me." Foxkit was surprised at her big mouth, especially since Softpelt was always talking about how important her job is.

"Anyways, I think we should head to my den first. It's the best one, after all." Cherrypool guided Foxkit and Echokit across the camp, greeting every single cat she encountered on the way.

Foxkit fell into step beside Echokit. "Can you believe it?" she gasped. "We're almost apprentices! We'll end up knowing this camp like the back of our paw."

Foxkit gulped and struggled to make words come up his throat. The feel of the ground beneath his paws was not like that of the nursery. It was firmer, meant for cats much braver than him. "Yeah, it's great."

All of a sudden, Echokit stopped in her tracks. Her blue eyes were gleaming with that same intensity from all those moons ago, the first time they were in camp. "Foxkit, you better not be afraid."

"I'm not," he blurted out.

"Yes, you are. Remember that everyone in this Clan is ready to defend you, Foxkit. But you need to train to defend them too."

With that, Echokit began chasing after Cherrypool, who had gotten quite a bit ahead of them. The ginger tom followed his friend, reminding himself that Echokit's words had always been the right ones.

"Here we are," Cherrypool mewed as she nuzzled her way into the den. It was a decent size. It had two nests in the back and two near the front, which Foxkit guessed separated the medicine cats from the wounded. There were many strange smelling herbs in piles along the sides of the den – some were leaves, some appeared to be roots, and some were even berries. Foxkit wondered how any cat would be able to memorize which herbs were which.

There was one other cat in the den, and Foxkit knew him as Sagebreeze, although he had only seen him once or twice. He seemed quiet, the type to stay in the den and not cause too much trouble, similar to Foxkit himself. However, Sagebreeze also looked around with a calm, steady gaze – something Foxkit didn't really identify with.

"And here's my former apprentice!" Cherrypool bounded over to where Sagebreeze was sorting through a pile of berries. She gave him an affectionate poke in the shoulder. "You see, I was the one who trained this young tom into the amazing medicine cat he is today. It took a lot of hard work, but it paid off, because now ThunderClan has twice the help when someone is sick or wounded."

Foxkit watched as Echokit admired all the herbs sorted in the den. "Are there any herbs that will help me become a great warrior?" she questioned, eyeing the green leaves in the corner with suspicion.

Cherrypool meowed in amusement while Sagebreeze answered the question seriously. "Not that we know of. But if StarClan happens to grant us with one, we'll certainly let you know."

"Great!" Echokit purred.

Sagebreeze's gaze moved from the she-kit to the tom. Foxkit admired how slow and gracefully he moved, his smooth voice, and how neat and shiny his light gray coat was. He was definitely wise – maybe, no, _probably_ even wiser than his mentor. "Greetings, young tom. Would you like to know anything about the herbs you see here?"

Foxkit jumped on a question quickly, even though he didn't have any curiosities particularly. "What's that?" He pointed with his tail to the small leaves in a pile.

"Thyme," Sagebreeze answered immediately. "It helps anxiety. Many cats need it after big battles."

 _I'd like the whole pile,_ Foxkit wanted to say. He was tired of being the weaker kit, the one that no cat expected much from. As he pondered the risk of stealing some, he found Sagebreeze's gaze had gained intensity. His fern green eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, looking back to what he was sorting through.

"Sagebreeze, how much do you still have to go through?" Cherrypool asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Well, I'm trying to make a pile of watermint here. One of the apprentices also dropped by some horsetail, so I've got to find a place for that. And it appears that in your haste to enter the den, you've mixed up the piles of dock and feverfew…" The tom gestured to the front of the den, where two of the piles seemed to be out of order.

Cherrypool's fur bristled. "Great StarClan, Sagebreeze! I left you alone for a good while and you got next to nothing done!"

"Yes I have. I sorted the herbs _you_ were supposed to go through."

"What?! I was going to do that myself!" 

"I had to sort through those herbs in order to get through the entrance of the den, Cherrypool."

"Are you calling our den messy?!"

Foxkit and Echokit watched as the argument bounced back and forth, Cherrypool's remarks being quite a bit louder than Sagebreeze's. Both the kits took this as their que to leave, as neither of the medicine cats seemed to be close to ending the fight. The kits padded back into the camp together.

"Well, that tour was fun while it lasted, I suppose," Echokit muttered.

Foxkit barely heard. He was too busy thinking about how powerful Sagebreeze has looked. He was considerably young, as he had just become an official medicine cat less than a moon ago. But Foxkit couldn't help but envy him.

 _Is it my destiny to become a medicine cat?_ Foxkit saw it as a way to avoid fighting and hunting, which he guessed wasn't the right attitude to have. He would feel amazing being next to Sagebreeze, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to memorize those herbs like medicine cats were supposed to. He was stuck on the path of a warrior, whether he liked it or not.

Foxkit realized he hadn't replied to Echokit, and she flicked her tail in annoyance. "Come on, Foxkit. Let's go see if the apprentices want to play some mossball."


End file.
